Africa’s research and academic landscape faces several barriers that hinder its ability to compete on a global level. These challenges range from weak financial management in institutions to the limited visibility of African journals, and insufficient resources for research funding. To address these issues, African institutions must enhance their financial systems, improve the recognition of local journals, and develop stronger grant-writing capacities. This requires a coordinated effort from academic, governmental, and research bodies across the continent.
- Good Financial Practice Standard (GFGP)
To receive large grants and sustain long-term funding, institutions need to have strong financial management systems in place. The Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) standard is an international benchmark that provides a framework for managing grants in a transparent, accountable, and efficient manner. It ensures that organizations meet the expectations of funding bodies by implementing robust financial processes, allowing them to be eligible for more significant and more frequent funding opportunities.
1.1 Weak Financial Management Systems in African Institutions
Many African institutions struggle with weak financial management practices, which limits their ability to attract and manage large grants. These shortcomings can result in underfunded projects, reduced trust from international donors, and missed opportunities for long-term funding. Improving these standards is critical for building trust with funders and ensuring that African institutions can manage large research projects effectively.
1.2 Certification of African Institutions
Organizations like the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) have taken significant steps to meet international standards by achieving platinum-level certification in the GFGP. This level of certification shows a commitment to financial transparency and management, which increases the institution’s attractiveness to large donors. Other African research institutions should follow suit to meet the same rigorous financial standards, thereby increasing their eligibility for large-scale funding and boosting confidence among funders.
- Journal Visibility and Academic Recognition
African researchers often face barriers to career advancement, particularly because their work is undervalued if published in African journals. This has created a bias towards publishing in non-African journals, which are seen as more prestigious. However, this practice undermines the development of African journals and contributes to the global marginalization of African research.
2.1 Promoting African Journals
To address this imbalance, African academic institutions should value publications in African journals on par with those in Western journals when considering promotions and career advancements. This shift would encourage researchers to publish in local journals, helping to elevate their quality and visibility. By focusing on improving the standards and reputation of African journals, institutions can enhance their credibility on the global stage.
2.2 Strengthening Peer Review and Indexing
One of the reasons African journals struggle with visibility is the inconsistency and inefficiency of their peer review processes. African journals need to streamline peer review systems to ensure timely, rigorous, and transparent evaluations of submissions. Strengthening indexing in major academic databases like SCOPUS and Google Scholar is also crucial. If African journals are better represented in these databases, they will gain more recognition from the global academic community, making African research more visible and influential worldwide.
- Grant Writing and Proposal Development
Another critical area where African research institutions can improve is grant writing. Many institutions struggle to develop compelling, well-structured proposals, which hampers their ability to secure funding. This issue is exacerbated by the low levels of government investment in research, which limits the availability of local funds.
3.1 Low Government Funding for Research
For example, Kenya allocates only 0.77% of its GDP to research, which is far below the recommended 2% needed to drive meaningful progress. This funding gap means that researchers must increasingly rely on external grants to fund their work. However, without strong grant-writing skills, many institutions miss out on funding opportunities from international donors.
3.2 Proposal Development Workshops
To address this, African institutions need to invest in grant writing and proposal development workshops. These workshops can equip researchers with the skills needed to write compelling proposals that clearly communicate the importance of their research, its potential impact, and the detailed plan for how the funds will be used. Moreover, these workshops should emphasize the importance of effectively communicating research findings, both to funders and the broader public, to increase the societal impact of research.
Conclusion
Improving financial management, increasing the visibility of African journals, and enhancing grant writing capabilities are critical steps towards strengthening African research institutions. Achieving certification under the GFGP standard, like APHRC, can help institutions manage larger grants more effectively. By valuing publications in African journals equally to those in Western journals and enhancing journal indexing, the visibility of African research can improve globally. Finally, investment in grant writing workshops is essential for building the capacity of African researchers to secure more funding and better communicate their research findings.
